Case Law Alerts
Superior Court of Pennsylvania held that affirmative misrepresentation or fraudulent concealment of conduct that allegedly led to a patient’s death will toll statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims.
Reibenstein v. Barax, 2020 Pa. Super. 179, 236 A.3d 1162 (July 30, 2020)
January 11, 2021
by Gabor Ovari
The case involved a wrongful death and survival action brought by the decedent’s administratrix against the decedent’s primary care physician. The decedent died due to a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. Five days prior to her death, at the request of her primary care physician, she underwent a CT scan. The radiologist reported that the patient had an abdominal aortic aneurysm but it was poorly visualized. The report also stated that the primary care physician was contacted with the findings.
The trial court granted a motion for summary judgment based on the fact that the claim was filed beyond the two-year statute of limitations. However, on appeal, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania reversed. The court explained that affirmative or fraudulent concealment of the cause of death will toll the statute of limitations as long as the misrepresentation about or fraudulent concealment of conduct led to the plaintiff’s death. Here the court noted that the patient died of an abdominal aortic aneurysm and the death certificate listed that condition as the cause of death. The court did not need to reach the actual claim that there was actual fraudulent concealment or affirmative misrepresentation.
Accordingly, pursuant to the court’s ruling, for purposes of considering a motion for summary judgement, it is essential to determine whether there are any allegations as to misrepresentation or concealment about the cause of plaintiff’s death. If so, it is very unlikely that a motion for summary judgment will be granted based on a statute of limitations argument.
Case Law Alerts, 1st Quarter, January 2021 is prepared by Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin to provide information on recent developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. Copyright © 2021 Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, all rights reserved. This article may not be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm.
